On 26 August 2024 (or 22 August for those with Early Access), heroes of Azeroth will dive into World of Warcraft (WoW)‘s latest expansion, The War Within, as darkness calls from the very heart of the world. To set things up, there’s the traditional pre-patch before an expansion releases.
Join us in staring at a countdown to the exact release date and time for The War Within’s pre-patch release date, and learn more about the content heroes of Azeroth can dive into when it releases.
WoW The War Within Pre-Patch Release Date & Time
The War Within’s pre-expansion content update, also known as the “pre-patch,” will be released on 23 July 2024 in the US (24th for those in Europe), so mark your calendars. The update will be released once the servers come back online after a maintenance period. Below, you can find a countdown timer to the launch of the highly-anticipated The War Within pre-patch.
There’s always a chance that server maintenance could be extended, especially with an update as big as this one, so don’t forget to check the server status when planning your gameplay sessions.
Read More: WoW Dragonflight Servers Down? How To Check Server Status
If you haven’t pre-ordered The War Within yet, don’t worry; you can experience the pre-patch content with or without The War Within linked to your account. You do, however need a World of Warcraft subscription to play.
The War Within Pre-Patch Content Overview
The War Within’s pre-patch isn’t light on content, not by a long shot. You can experience the new and improved Skyriding with your favorite flying mount, group up in a new and exciting way with Warbands, complete the Visions of Azeroth story quest, and participate in the huge, four-stage Radiant Echoes event.
Check out a quick content overview for the expansion’s pre-patch below, alongside official descriptions of the main features you can enjoy.
- Warbands – “Expand the potential of all your World of Warcraft characters with account-wide progression across your Battle.net account, regardless of faction—including shared The War Within renown, a Warband bank, achievements, collections, and more!”
- Visions of Azeroth – “Strange visions are calling to the heroes of Azeroth. Players who have reached level 70 and have completed the final chapter of the Dragonflight questline will be called to take their next steps into the story leading into The War Within with the first part of the ‘Visions of Azeroth’ questline.”
- Radiant Echoes – “Confront the memories of Azeroth during the new pre-expansion event and collect Residual Memories to purchase new items to add to your Warband collection.”
- Skyriding – “Dragonriding is here to stay and available for many flying mounts in all flyable areas. Players can also toggle between Skyriding (previously known as dynamic flight) or the flying style introduced originally in The Burning Crusade (TBC), which we’re calling Steady Flight.”
Keep in mind that while The War Within’s pre-patch releases on 23 July 2024, the Radiant Echoes event only begins on 30 July 2024 and runs until the expansion releases on 26 August 2024.
In case you’ve completely missed it, check out The War Within’s awesome cinematic trailer below and get hyped for the expansion’s release!
Enjoy, heroes of Azeroth, and mark those calendars with the blood of your enemies!